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<title>The Strange and Confusing Actions of (Captain) Jack Sparrow by Jelly_Rol</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747284">The Strange and Confusing Actions of (Captain) Jack Sparrow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelly_Rol/pseuds/Jelly_Rol'>Jelly_Rol</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Ableism?, Autistic Jack Sparrow, Gen, autistic author, pirate times what's autism?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:47:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>848</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747284</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jelly_Rol/pseuds/Jelly_Rol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Sparrow is Autistic. But he's also a pirate and Barbosa, along with pretty much all of humanity at that time, doesn't really understand it. Neither does Jack though, so who's to blame any of them?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Barbosa</h2></a>
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    <p>Barbosa usually didn’t understand Jack and this time was no different. Despite the usual strange way he moved his hands and occasionally talked and that sometimes Barbosa found him just sitting in an odd position listening to the ocean and Jack would be incredibly strict about any sort of noise during that time, this time was somehow different. Jack was humming a song, drawing a map with one hand and the other was flapping about in the air. When Barbosa finally knocked on the door, he’d already walked in but he’d waited due to his curiosity, Jack had jumped and slammed the hand down onto the desk. He looked up, his face seemed both panicked and uncomfortable, where before he’d been completely relaxed. “Why d’ya do that?” Barbosa asked when Jack had finally asked what he wanted with a mildly upset tone. “I… I actually don’t know.” He said. “Can…” He paused for a moment, seeming to be collecting the words he wanted to say. “Can you get out?” Barbosa was confused but just left, closing the door. </p><p>The next time he caught Jack doing something odd was when he’d locked himself up in the captain’s quarters for two days. He’d not come out but once to grab a couple of the things that he would eat like chicken, apples, and bread, and some water before hurrying back to hide. Jack had hidden his face the whole time and wouldn’t look at anybody. But Barbosa had good enough eyesight to see that the captain’s face was reddened and he had good enough ears to hear the quiet sniffles. After that, he decided to follow Jack and check on him. When he got in the place was messy. Things had been thrown, a partially finished map torn to pieces, and there seemed to be a quiet banging sound from the bedroom. He quietly opened the door to see the young man rocking back and forth, every time he went back he hit it back on the wall. He was staring at his compass, which was spinning because that’s what he really wanted. To watch it spin. He shook his head and put the compass down, flapping his hands and shaking them out. “Jack, are you alright?” He asked in his normal volume. “No, no, quiet, quiet.” He’d quickly covered his ears. When Jack pulled his hands down Barbosa asked again. “Jack, what’s wrong?” His hands flew up to his ears again. “Stop talking…” He groaned. Barbosa finally went in, grabbing Jack’s wrists and pulling them down. “Jack-” The man screeched and struggled to get away. “Get, out, get out, GET OUT!” He shouted, hitting his legs with his fists and screaming. Tears streamed down his face so Barbosa did exactly what he was asked. He got out.</p><p>The final time Barbosa found Jack was about two months before he and the crew mutinied. He’d practically been walking on eggshells around Jack and the captain had noticed. He didn’t seem to like it. He’d gone into the captain’s quarters uninvited again. Jack hadn’t noticed him, despite having knocked. The younger man was pacing back and forth, but more like a frightened kitten than a caged animal. He was moving his hand weirdly again, occasionally pulling at his pant legs so they snapped back. He kept looking around but wasn’t focusing on anything. “Captain!” Barbosa yelled. He’d already said it four times. “What?” He stopped. That’s when Barbosa noticed he wasn’t actually looking at his eyes. Jack was staring at his forehead, though sometimes he looked at his lips as though he was planning on trying to read them. He’s avoided his eyes completely. “Nothing.” And he walked out, as confused as ever.</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Jack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From the moment he’d grown up, Jack knew he was different. Nobody else moved their hands like him. Nobody else could describe the way the ocean was and how it made him feel or the mechanics of a ship, especially the black pearl, for an hour and a half. Nobody else freaked out like he did. Nobody else had the urge to rock back and forth or hit their back or head on the wall. He’s honestly surprised he’s even got people who know him considering the way he is.</p><p>When Elizabeth Swan met him, she was confused about how he was. He wanted her to put his tuff on him but avoided her touch. He didn’t like it. Even through clothes, it felt wrong unless he wanted it and he remembered freaking out over it when he was younger. He remembered Barbosa coming in and grabbing his arms and screaming. “Normal” wasn’t really his strong suit. </p><p>When he’d finally gotten his ship back he was so happy that he’d rushed to the wheel and sung his song of happiness. He’d learned to only move his hands when talking, though he still couldn’t stop the “begging dog” arms as he called it. So he didn’t flap or shake out his hands despite the happiness. Instead, he sang his song, looked at his compass and headed towards the horizon.</p>
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